Courage

Catherine Schetting Salfino

Why ‘Made in USA’ Could Really Become More of a Reality

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When COVID-19 ground everyday life to a halt, the impact on the retail industry was immediate and severe. The fashion industry, which offers anywhere from twelve to many dozens of deliveries per year, was left staggering as the pandemic forced far-flung overseas factories to shut down. Orders were cancelled, or retailers and brands refused to pay for completed goods because sales nosedived as stores were ordered to close. During the ensuing months, the havoc wrought by the coronavirus generated discussions about the practicality of near-shoring …

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A Rich Past Steers Denim’s Future for Women

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LaQuan Smith sent amazing creations down the runway during his Fall/Winter New York Fashion Week show. His collections are all about empowering women to feel good about themselves via what they're wearing. And this season it included black, stacked stovepipe jeans with moto detailing and denim bustiers, part of his ongoing collaboration with Jordache. "I wanted to say something that was really impactful," Smith told Billboard in an interview about the collection. "What I'm creating with [the line] is something that you want to be a part of. …

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A Fitting Future

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In spite of easy, 24/7 access to brands and retailers online, most consumers prefer making their apparel purchases in an actual store. Perhaps as an unexpected consequence of e-commerce ease, previously minor in-store inconveniences are becoming pain points for some consumers. The fitting room and checkout experiences are two such aspects. Some retailers are looking to make the job easier, courtesy of some high-tech help. When the ecommerce intimates brand Adore Me was looking to open brick-and- mortar locations, the company saw both …

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The Importance (Or Not) Of Fashion Influencers

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As attendees fill the rows at New York Fashion Week, many of the seats will be filled with "influencers," both real and self-identified. As brands try to weed out who sits where, the issue with influencers goes deeper. A lot of time, money, and energy are spent trying to get product promoted through the perfect Instagram personality. But as with any business model, the "buyer beware" motto needs to be heeded. Instagram isn't the only social network to peddle influence in the fashion world. Pinterest, Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter rate, as …

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Digital and Physical Customer Service Vital for In-Store Sales

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It's no secret that retailers feel an ever-present threat from Amazon. No one feels it more than brick-and-mortar stores, who are bearing the costs of expensive real estate while watching steady increases in e-commerce sales. But experts say this is not a losing battle, as long as stores commit to high-level customer service along with helpful technology, which, when both combined, give customers the personalized selections they're looking for as conveniently as possible. Cynics might say all of that is easier said than done. But those who …

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Everything You’ve Heard About Cotton is Wrong

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On May 23, 2017 Cotton Incorporated and Sourcing Journal Online co-hosted a media and apparel industry event provocatively titled, “Everything You Know About Cotton Is Wrong.” The goal of the event, according to Kim Kitchings, Cotton Incorporated senior vice president of Consumer Marketing, was “to counter misperceptions about cotton—with facts.” The event entailed a series of presentations from Cotton Incorporated staff that included a primer on cotton commodity economics and an overview of how cotton-farming technologies have evolved over the …

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The Technical Side of Fashion and Performance

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Technology has come to fashion in a major way—whether in wearables, high-tech fabrics or the “Internet of Things” pieces that "talk" to the wearer. Changes in fashion trends, retailing and sourcing are evolving at a break-neck pace. And unlikely sources are offering advice as to how the tech and fashion worlds can come together to benefit the consumer. At the Fashion Tech Forum in October, 2016 in Brooklyn, Verizon's Diego Scotti, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, explained how tech people have to work hard to remember …

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Learning from the Hiccups of Holiday 2015

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The 2015 holiday season was all over the map, but at the end of the day, they spent well, to the tune of a 7.9 percent gain over last year, according to MasterCard SpendingPulse. That number exceeded pre-holiday predictions of between 3.5.to 5 percent increases, leaving retailers to consider what went well (mobile shopping) and what needed work (in-store pickup), and how to better counter Mother Nature next year. Overall, Retail Metrics' Ken Perkins, founder and president, said early reports were encouraging. "For example, the numbers from …

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